In his pass time when LeBron James isn’t entertaining his family, he might be on “the sticks”. And his favorite game is Madden. During the Netflix series, ‘Starting 5′, King James’ animated demeanor when playing the game was on unfiltered display. Each touchdown or stop is celebrated like his favorite NFL side, the Cleveland Browns might have done it. Soon though, it has become an obsession.

One of the reasons James started playing basketball was with the aim of becoming the greatest of all time. That mentality has attached itself to the virtual world of Madden 25. He spends hours playing the game, even recently sharing some fixes that EA should implement to enhance the experience for fans. “Help me understand the changes Online H2H,” he pleaded to the $34 billion company. However, even with the difficulties, the 39-year-old hasn’t stopped playing the game.

And he just happens to be one of the best players in the world. No, we mean it. In his recent Instagram story, the Akron Hammer shared a surreal achievement, earning the Top 100 nods in the game. “LFG,” he wrote as the excitement of finally attaining the milestone blanketed over him.

It’s unclear whether the Madden grind was the reason, but James didn’t attend the Lakers’ last preseason contest against the Golden State Warriors. In a way his achievement might be bittersweet since he missed the best performance of his son, Bronny, who scored 17. The crazy part is, it’s only been four years since LeBron James ‘locked in’ to gaming. And a hard loss fueled him to revive his ambitions.

A loss to Anthony Davis got LeBron James back to Madden

Originally, when young, James was an avid game. An image of him carrying a PlayStation 2 might be on some fans’ minds. However, with time, having a family and other responsibilities, took away from his love for gaming. However, in the Orlando Bubble in 2020, there were no distractions. Players had to stay in their rooms with nothing to do.

So James indulged in the world of gaming once again. Anthony Davis fondly remembers those times. “It was top three. Me, Quin Cook, and Markeiff Morris,” he said on a podcast. LeBron James at the time was nowhere in the picture. His running mate would ‘cook’ him regularly during the tournament that the Lakers held during their time in Orlando.

Those losses instilled a purpose within him. So the process began and from that time to early this year, Davis spoke about the magnitude of his achievements. “I think he is top 1000 in the world now,” he told the co-hosts on Join The Lobby. The X’s and O’s seem to appeal to James. And with the advancement of gaming, his intelligent mind works well with the complex Madden system.

With that in the time since, he has taken the same approach to the newest release of the game and become a top 100 player. Enough said right?